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The First: A Change in Curriculum
It takes longer than Scott is willing to admit for the X-Men to realize that Logan has added another class to the roster. Admittedly, they’re a bit distracted by Logan’s abrupt change in behavior.
Rumors about a frazzled Wolverine emerging from his room to demand the current date from the nearest student are much more alarming to them than Jubilee and Kitty bragging about starting a fire.
Jean has her hands full shielding herself from the sudden waves of tumultuous memories and emotions that Wolverine is spewing out like a volcano, unaware of the students’ wandering thoughts on skinning rabbits.
Hank is too busy watching Logan flex his hands, the tips of his claws ready to burst from his knuckles at every sudden noise, to notice most of the maps in the library have been taken out for study.
Scott’s eyes are only for Professor Xavier’s office door while his mentor tries to figure out why Logan has been acting like a spooked animal, hardly noticing the sudden acquisition of Swiss army knives by the entire student body.
Ororo finds herself preoccupied with coaxing Logan back inside the mansion when he bolts out of sleep and into the woods. She thinks about what an improvement it is that their Wolverine fled into the mansion’s forest rather than across the country. The makeshift shelters further into the trees remain hidden from her eyes.
For almost a month, Scott and his team are more focused on Logan wandering the halls in a daze, giving almost everyone a double-take, and tearing the Danger Room simulations to shreds at all hours of the night. Bobby and Rogue debating which type of edible plants they would be willing to eat first doesn’t even enter their radar.
Finally, after weeks without an explanation - of the Professor refusing to tell him anything about what is going on with his teammate, Logan dodging the other X-Men's attempts to get an explanation out of him (mostly by growling and storming off), and the X-Men failing to come up with their own logical conclusions (although Beast certainly had theories) - Scott resolves to take matters into his own hands.
He might not be as close to Logan as the other X-Men, but the other man wasn't getting any better and Scott won't stand for it anymore. As the leader, it was his job to make sure his teammates were in top form.
Logan was always spoiling for a good fight. Few things made him happier. Cyclops figures the best way to get the tension off the other man’s back would be to challenge him to a session in the Danger Room. They’ll both get to blow off some steam and maybe, if he’s lucky, Logan will give him something to work with.
As he rounds a corner of the mansion, however, he catches himself intruding on a large group of students. They’re sitting in a semi-circle on the grass, paying rapt attention to their teacher. Logan has a wad of gauze in his hand, calmly demonstrating and explaining the necessary steps to wrap a wound. It’s the most at ease Scott has seen Logan for almost a month. He stares across the lawn as the students take a roll of gauze each and start to practice on each other.
‘Scott?’ Jean calls, floating into his thoughts from the far end of the Mansion, ‘I felt your surprise, is something wrong?’
He invites her into his mind, nudging her towards his vision, ‘How long has this been going on?’
Jean drags her attention from his thoughts to look through his eyes. Her own shock brushes up against the fringes of his mind, ‘Is he teaching them first-aid?’
A chuckle comes from beside them as Professor Xavier opens a nearby window, “I see you've found Wolverine's advanced class.” The Professor smiles at the class with a fond look on his face. It’s the one he always gets whenever Logan is doing something charming - like he was seeing an old friend again. It’s been happening ever since the man had shown up at the mansion with no memory of anything before 1979 and a rogue teenager at his heels. Scott thought it was odd then, and it's still odd now. “He taught them how to start a fire three weeks ago and then he moved into orienteering, hunting, sheltering...this week he’s teaching them how to administer first-aid.”
‘Is that a good idea?’ Jean questions and Scott voices her comments to the Professor, ‘They’re just teenagers. Do we really want them to know how to start a fire?’
“They are aware of the consequences of misusing his teachings, Jean.” Xavier chuckles, knowing full well that Scott isn't alone in his mind, “I assure you. We won't need to worry about them lighting the mansion on fire.” The Professor watches Logan as he leads a struggling student through the steps again. “I know we haven’t discussed what happened a few years ago, but I do believe you understand his journey to us wasn’t easy. He worries for them.”
Jean's unease makes Scott frown. She and Professor Xavier had been the ones trying to help Logan sort through his memories in a futile attempt to help him regain his lost past. It wasn't long before they all realized they couldn’t help Logan like they’d promised. The telepaths never spoke of what they found in Logan’s memories, but there was one night when Jean had told him that Logan’s mind was like a pincushion, full of holes and needles. Much to Scott’s dismay and jealousy, somewhere in Logan’s addled soul and brutish nature, Jean had found someone worth having a crush on.
“Jean.” the Professor stares off into nothing with a significant look and Scott knows they’re exchanging something, telepath to telepath. “If something happens, they’ll have the skills to survive it.”
“We train them in the Danger Room.” Scott points out, “They already have-”
The Professor sighs, cutting him off, “There’s more to survival than fighting, Scott. I know you know that.”
He does. More than anyone else in the mansion realizes.
‘You’re upset you didn’t think of it sooner.’ Jean’s thoughts re-enter his.
‘I didn’t want to think they would need to know. We’re supposed to protect them.’ He responds. ‘As long as we’re here, they shouldn’t have to know wilderness survival skills.’
‘Well, Logan is the pessimist on the team.’ A wave of affection rolls through her and into him. It's mirrored by a begrudging fondness and residual jealousy on his end. Watching Logan teach the kids with a steady patience - even when something is horribly wrong with his mental state - stirs up a new appreciation for the gruff man. He and Logan had their differences, but Logan has more than proved himself as a teammate and a teacher.
As for the jealousy, Scott hasn’t felt truly jealous over Jean’s feelings for Logan for some time now. The flirty dance Jean and Logan used to have finally stopped on an oddly abrupt note early last year. Jean was still perturbed over it and Scott was ignoring the fact that she missed it, but he was relieved it had stopped.
As if sensing the smoldering remnants of jealousy, Jean drowns him in her love, pushing all her feelings for him over in one mental shove and leaving him suddenly giddy and light-headed.
“Hey, Slim.” Logan trudges up to him, bringing him out of his mental talk with Jean. “We’re going to the garage to hotwire your car.”
“Okay.” He says with a dopey grin. Logan raises a judgemental eyebrow at him, something disappointed in his gaze at the easy agreement, and leaves, calling for the kids to follow. The Professor shakes his head fondly and rolls away from the window.
Jean giggles at him, ‘That’s very kind of you, Scott.’
“Huh?” The reality of what he’s done slams into him. “Wait, Logan, not the convertible!”
The Second: Guard Dog
The mission went to shit. Scott really should have anticipated it when the impossible happened and Logan showed up in The Suit. He had been begging trying to get Logan to wear it for forever, so of course he paid for it with a failed mission. The details are blurry when he wakes up but the raging headache tells him not everything went to plan.
He winces and groans as awareness returns to him. The smell of chemicals helps him identify where he is. To his left, a chair creaks about as pleasantly as nails on a chalkboard when something heavy shifts its weight. Scott struggles to identify who it could be before a familiar voice grunts, “He’s awake.”
“Wolverine?” Scott rolls his head towards the voice. If his senses and memories are to be believed, his teammate is sitting at his bedside in what he knows is a very uncomfortable chair.
“If I’d known you’d be distracted by the suit, I wouldn’t’ve worn it, Cyke.” Wolverine growls.
“No,” He whines, “We just got you to wear it.”
“That punk rattled your skull more than I thought.” Logan sounds unimpressed, “Or the furball has you on the good stuff.”
None of that sentence gets processed by his brain. Instead, he focuses on keeping Wolverine on the team, “You’re an X-men. You should keep wearing The Suit.”
“I just managed to bully Jean into bed and you choose now of all times to wake up whining about my suit.”
Oh, Jean! Jean would make Logan keep wearing The Suit! She’s been helping him convince Logan to wear it, obviously she’ll help him convince Logan to keep wearing it.
Logan scoffs, “Of course she will. You two are menaces together.”
He said that out loud? Or is he a telepath now? Did Jean give him her powers? What if she gets stuck with his in exchange?
Horror floods his veins at the thought.
“If you got her powers you can just trade mutations again.” Logan reasons.
This makes sense to Scott, so he calms down from the frenzy he was working himself into.
“Good to see you awake, Scott.” Beast is suddenly in the room, his voice pitched low enough that the migraine in his head only spikes a little bit.
“I’ll go get Jean.” The chair scrapes as Logan stands. Displeasure swirls in his stomach.
Scott wants Logan to stay, Logan always has his back when there’s trouble, but he also wants Jean which leaves him struck with indecision.
“You should let her sleep,” Beast argues.
Scott thinks Jean can sleep down here. With him. Logan will be here too so it will be safe.
“She’ll want to know he’s awake.” Logan’s footsteps sound like the man practically ran out of the room. If Scott were in his right mind and in the right eye-wear, he would have seen the look on Wolverine’s face before he left. As it stands, he’s just sad his teammate left. Even if it was to go retrieve his wife.
“He’ll come back, right?” He asks Beast.
His friend is quiet for a moment, the click of nails against a glass screen filling the silence with a thoughtful air. Then Beast says, “He always does, in the end.”
After sleeping some more and waking up with his lover in his arms, he listens as Jean explains that he’s been out for almost eight hours and Logan had been at his bedside the entire time. That he’s sitting guard outside the room even now.
“He’s still wearing The Suit.” She whispers, fully aware of how sensitive the Wolverine’s hearing is. “He convinced me to eat and shower but he never left your side. That’s the only reason I listened to him.” Jean confesses.
She shares the memories with him. Of Logan snoring in the chair, still sweaty and bloody from the fight. Of Logan, urging Jean to eat something while Beast checks on Scott’s prone form. Of Logan, convincing the Professor to suspend classes for a few days and promising he’d take Scott’s and Beast’s classes if it took any longer than that for Scott to wake up.
To say he was shocked was an understatement. Jean is still in his head, which is how he knows she’s not nearly as surprised. Why?
‘He does care about you, you know?’
Scott lets his doubt slip over to her and shares with her their most recent argument over how to proceed with the mission. The one they had just failed.
‘This plan sucks, Slim. Just throw me at them and sit your boy scout ass down.’
‘We’re not throwing you at a bunch of mutant teenage delinquents, Logan. They’re just kids!’ and we’re a team, he doesn’t say.
Logan snarls, his hands flexing, ‘They shattered a girl’s leg and beat her boyfriend to death because of some stupid rumor. Those kids don’t need the X-Men to coddle them!’
He’s wearing The Suit but he’s still leaving himself out of the group. “They need someone like me.”
“Damnit, Wolverine! Would it kill you to listen to me? We’re going in as a team! You either accept that or stay here!”
He means: We can talk them down together. They’ll benefit from both of us.
But as always, Logan hears something different.
His lip curls and his hand shoots out, denting the wall. “Fine.” He grits out and then he’s stalking away to the X-wing, bloody knuckles healing before any blood can drip to the floor.
“Oh, Scott.” Jean’s slender hands come up to cup his face. “You always want what’s best for everyone and I love you for that.”
She kisses him, soft and slow. He sighs into it, leaning into her and closing his eyes to savor it. When they pull away, her thoughts join his.
‘He gave the brotherhood and those kids quite a scare after you went down.’ Jean explains, ‘They might have stood a better chance if Magneto had bothered to show up.’
‘He thinks he has to do all the hard things around here, just to save the rest of us the trouble.’ Scott gives a meaningful glance at the door. It took him a while to figure out that Logan was willing to make the hard decisions for the X-Men just so they wouldn’t have to. Once he did, it just became more and more obvious how much shit Logan was willing to wade through for them.
‘I’d say this was progress.’ Jean smiles, ‘He punched the wall instead of you and he still went with you after you pulled the authority card.’
‘You think he respects me now?’ Scott asks, yawning as his body calls for more sleep.
‘I think it’s a bit more than that.’ Jean answers, more than willing to sink back into the slumber she was woken from now that she knows her husband will be alright.
With the Wolverine sitting guard outside the room, the Greys fall asleep with ease.
The Third: Memories
They’re in a meeting, discussing how they’re going to proctor the new state-mandated testing exam when Logan suddenly stands from the table. The Professor keeps talking, but they’re all eyeing Logan with curiosity when he opens the window and says, “We’ve got a bug problem.”
“Actually, spiders aren’t bugs they’re arachnids-” A person in red and blue spandex is hauled in by the back of his suit like an unruly kitten, “-which is a different class of arthropods so technically, you have a spider problem.”
The person Scott almost immediately clocks as Spiderman finishes his rambling and realizes he’s standing in a room full of adult mutants with a bemused Wolverine holding the scruff of his suit. He adds, “Mr. Wolverine. Sir.”
“Hello, Spiderman.” Professor Xavier greets with a pleasant smile, “Might I ask the occasion for your visit?”
“Hello, Mr. Professor.” Spiderman responds, rubbing the back of his neck, “Sorry for interrupting.”
“That’s quite alright, it was a rather boring discussion anyway.”
Scott can’t argue against that, but he’d like to know, “What are ya doing here, kid?” Logan beats him to the punch. The kid lands on all fours as Logan releases him.
“Uh, well if you guys are busy I can come back later?” At that moment Spiderman looks every bit like a chastised teenager surrounded by his teachers. The ‘man’ part of Spiderman might be a stretch, especially if Logan has already acknowledged the hero as a kid.
“It is nothing that cannot wait. What can the X-Men do for you?” The Professor asks, steepling his fingers on the table.
“Uh, well, you guys know Captain America? I mean obviously you know Captain America, who doesn’t? But see, his birthday is next week and I was kinda hoping you would know where one of his friends is?”
Logan snorts, “Ain’t smelled any of his company since ‘45.”
The kid spins, as they all do, to give Logan a wide-eyed look.
“What?”
“Your memory is back?” Jean asks.
“You didn’t tell us?” Scott accuses.
“You never asked,” Logan smirks infuriatingly.
“‘45?” Beast reiterates.
The Professor purses his lips, “We’ll address this later. Spiderman, who are you looking for?”
“Oh my gosh, it’s you, isn’t it? Major Howlett? Special Canadian Forces?”
“Who told you that?” Logan growls.
“Special forces?” Storm gives Logan an imploring look.
“You fought in World War two?” Beast joins in, a little too eagerly.
“With Captain America?” Scott adds incredulously.
“Sorry! Sorry!” Spiderman leaps up to the ceiling. “Fury hinted that you might be alive and I did a bit of research using Jarvis and I found a video of you lighting stuff on fire - I didn’t think it was you! I thought you were his kid or something! I wasn’t looking for you -you I swear! But then you said you smelled Cap’s company and then you said ‘45 and-” the kid gasps, “Wait, this is a good thing, right? Cap will be so excited! I mean he’s visited the families of his other friends but you’re the real thing and-!”
“Shut the fuck up!” Logan roars, Jean manages to pass a quick ‘he’s overwhelmed’ to Scott before adamantium claws tear through an empty chair. “You get five words! One question!” Wolverine thunders. The ensuing silence is only broken by the top of the chair hitting the floor with a thunk.
“How old are you?” Beast asks, curiosity overriding his survival instincts.
“Old.” Logan grunts looking at Beast almost incredulously, “I meant the fucking kid.”
“Your memories are back?” Storm bravely interjects.
“Most of ‘em.”
“How do you know Captain America?” Scott quickly voices before Jean can. ‘That’s my question, Scott!’ Her feelings of betrayal do nothing to dull his amusement.
“That’s more than five words.”
‘Hah!’
“Who’s your favorite musician?” Kitty's head emerges through the door.
“Cash. Leave.” Logan points sternly at the door.
“Ms. Pryde, you will see me in detention tomorrow after your classes.” Xavier scolds her as Kitty phases back through the door with an, “Aw, man.”
Spiderman, who had been silent up until now, makes a couple of false starts before finally settling on, “Cap gets your number, please?”
“Fine.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! He’ll be so happy, Mr. Howlett!” Spiderman does a flip on the ceiling, defying gravity and catching Beast’s attention. Their resident scientist fiddles with his glasses and Scott knows he's about to ask the kid to do it again.
“ Don’t call me that and don't get your hopes up kid, he and I didn’t run with the same crowd.” Logan scowls at the hero, “Still don’t.”
“That’s okay! He gets lonely because of how old he is but you’re old too, so-” Spiderman slaps a hand over the lower half of his mask, “Wow! Look at the time, I am leaving now! Thanks again! Bye!”
The kid crawls out the window to who-knows-where and Logan huffs once he’s gone, “Good kid. Wasting his energy on this though.”
“You know him?” Jean finally gets to ask.
Logan’s gaze lingers on the window, something oddly wistful washing over his face, “No.”
As far as Scott knows, no one calls on Captain America’s birthday. Logan spends the day extra grumpy and burning off steam by working through various simulations in the Danger Room. Scott catches him with a pack of beer, different from his usual brand, sitting outside around the firepit he taught the kids how to build. He grabs Jean and they both go out to sit with their teammate while the fire crackles.
Logan grunts and snarls but after the Greys stubbornly refuse to leave, he begrudgingly lets them stay and drink his beer. When the kids show up with marshmallows and chocolate, the Wolverine has no choice but to resign himself to the company. Jubilee declares the Avengers overrated prompting Rogue to dive into a rant about Stark’s fortune. Kitty plays a Johnny Cash song on her phone that Logan grumbles about, but they all catch him trying to hide a smile behind his beer.
Scott is almost convinced that the Captain won’t call by the time a week passes and Logan starts sniffing the air right in the middle of breakfast. No one questions the Wolverine's nose. As soon as his brows had furrowed in the tell-tale sign that Logan was smelling trouble, his fellow early birds were already up and out of their seats. Scott notes that Logan isn't raising his hackles and decides to refrain from calling the rest of the X-Men, choosing instead to trail behind Wolverine with the rest of the breakfast crowd.
Logan opens the door right before the doorbell rings. On the other side, Steve Rogers stares at Logan like he can’t believe his eyes. Scott thinks he hears Bobby swoon.
The mansion watches as Captain America’s shoulders sag, “It is you.”
Logan offers a hand that Cap immediately clasps, leaving a sour pit in Scott’s stomach, “Good to see you again, Cap.”
And then, as if it’s been weighing on him since the war, America’s poster boy says with the saddest look on his face, “They put my stuff in a museum.”
“You want to go get it back?” Logan offers.
“Tony said he’d buy it back.” Rogers hesitates, clearly unhappy with the idea. He hasn't noticed the multitude of awed and starry young eyes on him. Or he's ignoring them in favor of Logan.
“So?” Scott knows Logan has raised a judgemental eyebrow, even if he can only see his back, “You want to go get it back?”
“Yes . ”
Here’s what they don’t tell you about Captain America in school: the man might be the American government’s golden boy, but he would never and will never stop doing what he thought was right. Whether the government agreed with him or not.
Cap knew Logan was special forces. Cap knew he wanted his childhood sketchbook back. If Cap wanted his stuff back, he was getting his stuff back. The news the next day featured Logan growling at a curator while Captain America filled a backpack with his old items, “It’s his stuff, Lady. Back off!”
Because the thing was, Cap didn’t want Stark to spend money on items that were worth pennies without Steve Rogers’ name attached to them. He just needed someone to be there and have his back. Something he trusted Logan to do, despite only running one mission with him.
Jean knows this because it was at the forefront of Rogers’ mind when he first realized Logan was the real deal. And of course, she told Scott, who scowls at the information, “If they were actual teammates they wouldn’t need to take ours.”
The two war veterans come back to the mansion after their escapade, entirely ignoring the chaos they've set upon the American Media. No one recognized Logan as an X-Man (how Logan gets away with it Scott will never know), which saves them from any damage control, but as Spiderman put it: obviously they know who Captain America is, who doesn't?
The stations are full of interviews from smug Avengers to supportive veterans to entitled government representatives. Logan, predictably, couldn't give two shits about the publicity of it all and walks the grounds with Cap, catching up on lost time.
Scott can’t wait for Steve Rogers to leave.
Number Four: Fashion Sense
Gender doesn’t mean much to the X-Men or their students. When you have friends that can change their anatomy to someone else’s or into something else altogether, the line between boy and girl doesn't blur so much as it shatters entirely, scattering light rays until pink and blue become red and purple and everything in between.
Students got their own rooms with their own bathrooms so it was hardly an issue for the more conservative folk. What they did share, however, was a laundry room, which…well, teenagers were curious and fearless so Scott is only mildly surprised to walk in on Kurt trying on Kitty’s bra.
“Er, guten tag?” Kurt’s tail flicks nervously. Jubilee squats next to him with a skirt open for Kurt to step into. Kitty and Rogue are glaring at Scott from atop the washing machines.
“Lay off, rugrats, the boy scout won’t care.” Around the corner of the door, down the hallway of dryers, Logan is sitting in his boxers and watching the machine work with crossed arms. Scott feels mildly vindicated that he isn’t the only one who waited too long to do his laundry. “And if he does, I’ll let ya fix his attitude real quick.”
“This doesn’t bother you?” Scott asks him. He figured the guy who practically breathed raw masculinity would have an issue with a boy wearing feminine clothes.
“The waist is too big for him and that shade of orange is fucking hideous, but I’ve seen worse,” Logan says, eying the skirt with distaste.
“Hey!” Kitty complains, “Orange is the new black! It’s trendy!”
“He’ll look like a traffic cone.”
“Wolvie’s not wrong.” Jubilee shrugs, “Personally, I think red is more your color, Kurt.”
“Then what are we doing here?” Kitty asks rhetorically and then points a demanding finger at Logan, “Logan! Take us to the mall!”
“I need pants for that, half-pint.”
“No shirt?” Scott questions and Logan smirks, “You hopin’?”
Blood rushes to his face, “No!”
“You should come with us too, Mr. Grey,” Jubilee suggests.
“Yeah, Slim. Ya can get somethin’ for Jeannie.”
Which is how, an hour later, Scott finds himself wandering around a mall with four teenagers and a wolverine. In the first store, they find Kurt a couple of skirts that fit while Logan glares down any humans who might have given them trouble. “This is so nice.” Kurt beams, doing a little twirl so they can see how the skirt flares out, “I feel so free.”
Rogue drags them to the next store, leading them into a sea of black clothing. She browses the racks while Jubilee pulls out a leather jacket to show Kurt and Kitty. Scott gets roped into being a walking coat hanger as Rogue and Kitty keep shoving clothes into his arms for them to try on later.
Logan trails behind them like a grumpy guard dog, the kids constantly showing him what they’ve picked and demanding his opinion on them. Much to Scott’s bewilderment, Logan actually seems to know what does and does not look good.
At one point when the kids have converged back together, Scott catches the other man eyeing a cropped biker jacket. It’s much too small for him and too large for the teens. Scott wonders briefly if Jean would like it and then dismisses the idea. Jean didn’t care for leather. Oddly enough, the thought of Logan imagining Jean in the jacket didn’t bug him as much as it might have. If anything he can appreciate the imagery of her in leather pants and a leather jacket, laying across his bike with that infuriating smirk - just like the one Logan always gives him.
Scott clears his throat, trying to pull himself out of that rabbit hole before he embarrasses himself in public. If Logan notices, he doesn’t say anything.
Once Rogue finally has a new outfit, Kitty has a new belt, and Kurt has a new tank top, they head to the last store.
Jubilee blends right in with the bursts of color around the room and Kitty immediately descends upon the lighter colors. To Scott, the clothes all look like varying shades of red, but he can appreciate the sheer spectrum at least. They spend the longest amount of time in this store, exacerbated by the presence of another group of teenagers who absorb the four mutants into their posse and somehow manage to start their own fashion show in the dressing rooms.
Logan vanishes into the racks of clothes, leaving Scott to spectate and occasionally give a thumbs up when the kids glance back at him. Eventually, Logan returns with a summer dress in his hands, “It’s that green Jeannie always wears.”
The dress is sleeveless and comes down to the knee. It’s covered in flowers that Scott suspects are yellow and, if Logan is telling the truth, is her favorite shade of green. Logan shifts his weight and shoves the dress into Scott’s arms, “Quit starin’ at it and make a decision, we don’t have all day.”
“It’s perfect.” He admits, but Logan is already angrily marching away.
The kids have their fun for another thirty minutes or so before the other group of teens say their goodbyes and leave. They’re all grinning from ear to ear. It’s clear that this has been one of the best outings their students have had in a while. Logan reappears smelling like smoke, but settled down. “Everyone happy?”
“You know it, Wolvie!” Jubilee cheers, “I got those kids’ numbers so you’ll have to take us out again next week!”
“Do I look like an Uber to you, Firecracker?”
“What’s an Uber?” Kurt asks and Logan goes stock-still. They all pick up on his rigid posture and Scott tries to figure out how to deflect when Logan does it himself, “Old English slang for chauffeur.”
The kids share a significant look that Scott knows means trouble before they all pounce on Logan at the same time.
“I want to go to the coffee shop!” Jubilee snags Logan’s arm.
“Yes, I agree, I would like some tea.” Kurt hops on his back.
“Boba for me!” Kitty snatches his wallet and runs off.
“Get back here, half-pint!” Logan yells after her.
“No gettin’ outta this one, Logan.” Rogue falls into step with him. “We got Mr. Grey’s too.”
Scott pats his back pocket and yes, his wallet is gone. Most likely sharing the same fate as Logan’s. “Menaces. All of you.” Logan grunts and Scott is inclined to agree, adding, “You’re all grounded when we get back.”
“Worth it!” Jubilee declares.
The coffee shop isn’t that far and Kitty has already ordered everyone’s drinks. Mocha for Rogue, a pumpkin spice latte for herself, straight black for Logan and Scott, tea for Kurt, and a boba tea order that Scott can’t make heads or tails of for Jubilee.
“Did you find something for Mrs. Grey?”
“Logan found it. I think she’ll really like it.” Scott smiles, excited for Jean’s reaction when he shows her the dress.
“When did you become a fashionista, Logan?” Rogue questions.
“Didn’t have much of a choice,” Logan grumbles. Scott catches a distant gaze that Logan gives his coffee before he wipes it away with a scowl, “I did not throw beer at the police instead of stabbing them for you to feel self-conscious about what ya wear.”
“Why were you throwing beer at the police?” Kitty asks.
“It was a riot kid, it’s what ya do. Plus they were driving their cycles into us.” Logan bares his teeth in a wicked grin, “Pretty things. Ya shoulda seen the look on their faces when they saw the damage I did to ‘em.”
“When was this?” Scott can’t help but ask.
“Cool yer jets, Slim, it wasn’t recent.” Logan growls.
“So when was it?” Jubilee leans over the table with interest and because the Wolverine has a soft spot a mile wide for the kids, he tells them. Not that Scott is upset Logan would tell the kids and not him. Not at all.
“‘77. Montreal.” Logan takes one look at the teens’ faces before cruelly saying, “That’s all yer gettin’.”
Kurt sighs while the girls groan, “You never tell us the exciting parts.”
“Yeah, like how you know Captain America ,” Kitty grumbles.
“And I never will.” Logan finishes his coffee and crumples the cup before tossing it over his shoulder and into the trash can like an asshole. Scott frowns, unhappy with Logan’s statement. He really wishes the other man would just let him in. Let them in. Let any of his teammates or fellow mutants in.
They end their mall excursion on that note. The kids run off as soon as they get back to the mansion, eager to hang out with the other students. Logan stays behind with the car because he heard something in the engine rattle on the way back. Scott gives Jean the new dress.
She loves it.
Number Five: Return
Logan is gone.
He doesn’t come down for breakfast, his room is empty, he’s not in the danger room, and he’s not on school grounds. He’s gone. Left, just like always, without any warning or word to anyone. They were so sure they were making progress with him, and he up and left again.
He didn’t take Scott’s bike.
Scott spends hours combing over his bike, looking for any imperfection that might have driven Logan to take the Professor’s car instead of the bike. The engine purrs like normal, the brakes work, the lights are fully functional, and there isn’t a scratch on her.
Why didn’t he take the bike?
‘Scott, have you considered maybe he didn’t want to take your bike?’ Jean asks across the school grounds.
‘He always takes this bike.’ Scott scowls at his pride and joy, determined to figure out what was wrong with it. He hadn’t added anything, hadn’t removed anything, he hadn’t done anything to the bike since Logan came back the last time he left other than to give it a tune-up.
‘Why are you so hung up on this?’ Jean’s confusion paired with minor exasperation filters through with the thoughts.
‘He always takes this bike.’ Scott repeats, swirling emotions he can’t identify running rampant around in his mind.
‘You’re worried.’ Jean states.
‘Yes.’ Something is wrong with his bike.
‘It’s more than that. Look closer, Scott.’
Something is wrong with him.
He wanted Logan to take his bike. It was part of the routine. Logan took his bike and then brought it back. He always took Scott’s bike, he always brought it back, even if it was so beat up from a fight that just the handles were left.
‘He’ll come back.’
Scott hesitated to agree. Logan didn’t take his bike.
‘You want him to come back.’
‘Obviously. He’s our teammate.’
‘He’s our friend.’ Jean plucks out that bundle of emotions from the cacophony of feelings he has surrounding Logan. There’s ire over Logan’s constant ribbing, fondness when he remembers Logan teaching the kids how to wrap a wound, trust when he thinks about all the times Logan had his back or sat at his bedside while he recovered from his wounds, jealousy for all the times Captain America called and Logan dropped whatever he was doing to answer the phone, and there, a feeling that lay beneath it all, only growing brighter and becoming more obvious until Scott had to start ignoring it for the sake of his own sanity after Logan had shoved that pretty green dress in his hands and Jean had lit up like the sun when she saw it.
‘I thought I was the one with the crush.’ Jean is amused and immensely fond as they both recognize the emotion at the same time.
He swears out loud. It’s a horrible time for this kind of revelation, especially when Logan hadn’t taken his bike.
‘I think we should talk about this before he comes back.’
Scott hesitates, staring at his bike with pinched brows.
‘He will come back, Love. If not, we’ll go get him ourselves.’
So they’ve both got a crush on the Wolverine. What are they supposed to do about that? Ignore it? Explore it in the safety of Jean’s mindscape with Logan being none-the-wiser? They hadn’t come up with a solid plan other than We Need to Talk to Logan, before the man returned.
Four weeks after Logan didn’t take Scott’s bike, a student interrupts his automotive class with a gasp, “Look!”
His students all rush to the window, Scott opens the side door and steps out. Rattling down the long driveway is a sputtering bus that looks two seconds away from falling apart.
The windshield is shattered, and the nose of the bus is dented so much that Scott is amazed the vehicle still runs. As it gets closer Scott notices the whole bus is riddled with bullet holes and the paint is stained with blood. The left rear-view mirror is gone, the right is barely hanging on, and most of the windows are broken. The bus has seen hell itself.
Scott sends the kids into the mansion and mentally calls for Jean to summon backup. When the bus finally limps the last leg of the driveway and the driver puts it into park, the wheels give out. Shrieks and shouts come from inside. With increasing alarm, Scott realizes that there are kids inside.
He steps up to the doors which only budge an inch when the driver tries to open them. He hears mild swearing before a heeled foot kicks the doors open with prejudice. A woman stumbles out, “You…Are you an X-Man?”
Matted hair and disheveled clothes highlight the bags under the woman’s frantic eyes. She glances from him to the mansion.
“I am,” Scott says, “Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“Is Professor Xavier here?” The woman’s voice cracks, her lips trembling.
“He is. Do you want me to go get him?”
She bursts into tears. He holds his hands out to her, unwilling to touch her lest it send her into further hysterics but ready to catch her if her legs give out. Jean, Ororo, and Hank come dashing out of the mansion with Professor Xavier in tow. “Please.” The woman begs, “Please, he said you would help. He said - please.”
Jean takes his place, soothing the woman with gentle words and a calming presence. Scott climbs the steps into the bus.
The inside is marginally better than the outside. Seats are missing or damaged beyond repair but there isn’t as much blood. Tiny faces peek out behind the remaining functional seats. Children look up at him with trepidation and fear. Some mask it with challenging looks, and others hide further away. At the very back, blue and yellow legs are prone on the floor.
“The kids - please, help the kids. He promised you would.” The woman continues to sob outside, the noise filtering in through the broken windows. The children get braver when nothing awful happens right away. As they emerge from their hiding spots, Scott realizes they’re all wearing medical gowns.
“Hello.” He waves at them, “My name is Scott.”
A little boy climbs down from his bus seat and stands in the aisle. He’s small, barely to Scott’s knees, and his body is made entirely of marble.
“I’m like you.” Scott taps his visor. There’s a grunt from the back where Logan is lying. A girl with long hair and a fierce expression emerges, “Verdad.”
Like a switch is flipped the kids start to come out one by one until thirteen curious pairs of eyes are upon Scott.
‘I’ve got this, Scott.’ The Professor tells him, ‘Once the kids are off, why don’t you see about helping Logan?’
His team and mentor coax the children off the bus with the woman’s help, letting Scott hustle to the back to check on Wolverine. The girl from before stares at him as she leaves, it’s uncanny how much that expression reminds him of the man on the floor.
Logan is in pain, that much is obvious as soon as Scott rounds the seat to get a look at him. Glowing veins trail up the side of his face and down his arms where the sleeves have ripped. Scott checks his pulse first, ignoring the fear that spikes in his gut. Wolverine never stays down for long. Something is wrong.
“Wolverine, you with me?”
He gets a long low groan as an answer. Logan’s heart is beating rapid-fire under his hot skin, leaving him panting beneath Scott’s fingers. This isn’t something Scott knows how to deal with. “Hank!” he yells. Logan coughs and his eyelids flutter. He doesn’t do much more than that.
The bus rocks as Hank pulls the back door open and clambers in. He catches sight of the strange markings as he gets closer, “Let’s get him to medical.”
Hank takes one of Logan’s arms while Scott takes the other. The man is ridiculously heavy despite his height and his attitude doesn't help. “Fuck off.”
“Sorry, Wolverine,” Beast apologizes, leading all three of them off the bus, “but something is wrong with you.”
“Something is always fuckin’ wrong with me.” Logan mumbles, “Can’t fix it.”
Scott and Hank share a look over his head.
It's doubtful that Logan is suddenly willing to admit what Jean and the Professor have been trying to tell him for years now - that he really needs to see a therapist or open up to someone about his trauma. That'll be a cold day in hell.
Which means Logan is talking about his physical health.
“We will.” Scott declares stubbornly. There's a dismissive snort from the other man before Logan stiffens against him and groans as a shudder runs through his body. The bare arm over Scott’s shoulder is almost hot enough to burn.
“Talk to us, Logan. What happened?” Hank picks up their pace to medical. They're almost to the elevator now. Scott catches a glimpse of Rogue and the rest of Logan's pack of kids watching them pass by from the rec room. The reassuring smile he tries to give them doesn't help at all. Their fearful eyes are only for the struggling Wolverine on his shoulder.
“Bitch.”
Scott glares at his teammate, “Will you stop being so damn stubborn?”
They make it to the elevator. Logan is running so hot now that he actually is burning Scott. Wolverine growls, his claws popping out and almost nicking his teammates. The noise trails off into a pathetic sound.
“Room one, Scott.” Beast directs. They haul Logan into the closest room and heave him carefully onto the bed, mindful of the claws.
“Tie me down.” Logan grits out once he's down.
“Are you sure?” Scott frowns.
Logan snarls at him and Scott figures he's pretty sure. Beast moves around while Scott loops the bed's restraints around Logan's wrists and ankles. “-going to take your temperature and then draw some blood. This would be a lot easier if you would tell us what happened to you.” The blue mutant says.
“Wanna bet?” Logan’s snark is followed by a gasp as the glowing veins pulse, the sickly color that Scott hazards is somewhere between yellow and orange, brightens to almost white. Logan makes a sizable dent with how hard he grips the sides of the bed frame. Something in Logan’s mouth cracks from how hard he's clenching his jaw.
“Shit!” Beast swears, tossing his clipboard aside and running to a machine.
“What's happening?!” Scott demands, watching Logan thrash on the bed.
“I would love to know!” Beast snaps, attaching the machine to his patient. Nothing on the screen he's looking at makes any sense to Scott. After a long moment, Beast shoves the machine aside and picks his notes back up. He writes quickly, glancing at the screen and at Logan as he goes.
Scott feels worse than useless. He can only watch Beast work until the veins antagonizing his friend start to dull in color an eternity later.
Panting, sweating, bleeding from the restraints, and exhausted, Logan summarizes the experience with an emphatic, “Fuck.”
‘Scott.’ Jean’s thoughts brush his. Her presence soothes the anxious fog clouding his mind. The exhausted woman from before appears in his mind’s eye, ‘Her name is Gabriela, and she has a lot to tell us.’
With nothing better he can do for Logan down in medical, Scott can't be faulted for leaving as quickly as he can.
Plus One: Reality Breaks In, Literally
“So to summarize,” Storm says in the ensuing silence, “Wolverine and the Avengers showed up to your lab, somehow knowing that Transigen was cloning mutants. You and some fellow scientists helped them liberate the children but only four of you could escape on the Avenger’s vehicle. At which point, Wolverine invited you to flee with him and the children on the bus.”
Gabriela nods, red-eyed and exhausted from telling the whole story. The meeting table is cramped from the heavy tension in the air. Scott’s fists are clenched in his lap and Jean’s displeasure is buzzing along with his in the back of his skull.
“You were chased by Tansigen agents the entire way to Westchester from northern Mexico. At the border, you split off from the Avengers so they could keep the agents off of you.” Storm continues, “Eight hours into your journey, something happened to Wolverine. It got worse with each day until you had to take over driving and finally made it to us three days later.”
‘They ditched him!’ Jean seethes.
‘They ran a distraction so he could escape with the kids.’ Scott corrects, although he's none too happy about it himself. He can think of eight different plans just off the top of his head that would have turned out far better for everyone involved.
“Hank?” Professor Xavier prompts.
Beast speaks to them over video call from the basement, not too far from the medical room housing Logan, “Something is ripping Wolverine apart at the atomic level. The bad news is that his healing factor is unable to keep up with the damage. The good news is that it has been able to offset the damage once each, let’s call them surges, has passed. That has been enough to keep him alive.” Beast pauses, leaving the ‘for now’ unspoken.
“Fortunately, with our new connection with Captain America and subsequently Tony Stark I…found the problem.”
Hank reaches for something offscreen and pulls out a white picture with a black hole in the middle. “I took this image with a device that can discern between matter and antimatter. Somehow, Wolverine has been overloaded with matter. Now-” Hank pulls out another picture with an even bigger black hole, “on top of that, it seems to me that he’s producing the matter himself. Which means-”
“If we don’t find a way to get rid of it, he’ll die.” Jean finishes for him. Beast gives her a disapproving look for reading his mind.
“When did this happen?” Scott demands to know.
“Based on the time between when I took these images, I can hazard a guess…but it very likely won’t be accurate. For all we know, he’s been able to do this his entire life and it only started to become a problem recently.” Beast explains, “As you know, Logan won’t say anything about it.”
Scott mentally swears and Jean echoes the sentiment.
“And you are just as clueless,” Storm gives Gabriela an imploring look. The poor woman shakes her head.
“Is there anything we can-” Scott starts.
Alarms blare overhead, the proximity alert wailing from the speakers around the mansion. Jean immediately starts to check on the mental state of the kids and telepathically directs them to their rooms while Beast leaves the frame and shouts, “They’re in the medical room with Wolverine!” Then, distantly, “What are you doing? No!”
Scott sprints out the door, his team close behind him. The elevator to the lower levels takes years to get them down and Scott nearly blows the doors off when they don’t open fast enough. He rounds the corner into the medical hall, barging into the only occupied room-
-and sees an empty space where the bed used to be.
“I -” Beast starts, looking horrendously frazzled. “He vanished. They just…took him. I can’t smell him anywhere!”
“I can’t sense him.” Jean glances around frantically, “He’s gone!”
“Professor!” Scott runs back out of the room.
‘Yes, I know.’ Professor Xavier tells him, ‘I am almost to Cerebro.’
The X-Men stay outside of Cerebro, ready to head out to retrieve their teammate as soon as the Professor gives the word.
‘...’ They feel the fruits of the Professor’s labor before he tells them.
“No.” Storm gasps. There’s a wham! as Beast slams his fist down onto a nearby table. Jean leans heavily into Scott’s side.
How is it possible? Scott wonders. Beast was two seconds away from Logan and in that time someone had kidnapped Wolverine and left without a trace. There’s no sign of struggle, no evidence that anyone had been taken. All that was left was a screaming heartbeat monitor. They had nothing else to go on and not even Cerebro could help them.
Cerebro couldn’t find Logan.
“Scour the mansion.” He orders. “We’ll start on the inside, then work our way out onto the grounds.”
“Scott.” Jean gives him a pitying gaze.
“We have to try.” He declares, ‘I left him. This is my fault, I have to fix it.’
“Okay.” She acquiesced, replying to his silent agony with love and reassurance, ‘You couldn’t have known. But we’ll try to find him, okay?’
Storm was already out the door, Beast declared his intention to figure out how the intruders got in and began pulling up security footage, Jean enlisted the students' help searching the mansion, and Scott began to scour the basement. The Professor stayed with Cerebro, continuing his search.
In the end, they find nothing.
By the time the sun has started to set hours later, the Professor begins to insist that they all take a break. There’s still the issue of Gabriela and the thirteen young mutants to take care of. Scott reluctantly joins his team back at the mansion. The women and the Professor help their refugees settle in while Scott, who struggles with connecting to people on the best days, decides to take control of dinner.
Bobby, Johnny, and Rogue come in to help, mercifully keeping their questions to themselves. They make stew in two big pots, Scott keeps everyone busy chopping vegetables while he handles the meat. It’s when everything has been put together and they just have to wait that Rogue finally speaks up.
“He’ll be fine.”
“I don’t know, Rogue.” Bobby disagrees, careful not to make eye contact with her.
“He will.” She insists, pulling out Logan’s dog tags. Then she looks towards Scott with a stubborn expression, “He always comes back.”
Scott doesn’t know what to tell her. Yes, Logan always comes back but he also always takes Scott’s bike and he also always walks away on his own two feet. Not even he knows what is going to come out of his mouth when Kitty runs through the door, “Logan broke the pool table!”
Scott feels his face contort. The other teenagers in the room also convey their disapproval and confusion with judgemental looks. Rogue’s raised eyebrow does a very good impression of Logan’s.
“Like, just now!” Kitty explains, “He fell out of the ceiling!”
For the third time today, Scott is sprinting out of a room.
‘Scott!’ Jean barges into his mind, ‘He’s back, I can feel him!’
‘Kitty just told me.’ He replies, almost running into the doorframe of the rec room in his haste. Just as Kitty said, the pool table is broken down the middle, a grumpy Wolverine getting a hand up out of the crater he left in it by a woman in a cropped biker jacket and a man in black and red spandex. Scott doesn’t recognize either of them.
“We gotta work on your superhero landing, peanut, that was terrible. I mean you’re too old to be throwing your weight around like that. You’ll be showing up in future X-Men movies in a wheelchair and no one is ready for bald Hugh Ja-”
“You’re the one who put the fuckin’ door right over the pool table!” Logan growls, pulling the other man down onto the broken table with a hard yank and interrupting the man’s rambling in the process.
“But you love pool!” The man argues, latching onto Wolverine’s bicep.
“Not enough to break my spine on the table!” Logan releases the woman’s hand to shove the man’s face.
“You love this ‘pool enough to break his spine on the table.” The man gestures to himself.
“I will cut you.” Wolverine’s claws come out with two snikts.
“Not on the nice carpet, boys.” The woman smiles. Logan puts his claws away as she helps him up. Scott knows from experience that Logan is heavier than he looks and he suspects that Logan stands up under his own power, but lets the woman take a minimal amount of weight.
“Ugh, fine!” The strange man pouts. Much to Scott’s surprise, both Logan and the woman give him a hand up, “We’ll play in the yard instead.”
“Wolverine?” Scott interrupts, catching the attention of all three.
“Logan!” Rogue shoves him aside to run into the room, “What happened?”
“The power of gay love saves the day again, little bublet!” The man declares. “Fear not, Daddy Wolverine is back and in better shape than ever. I would know, the reunion sex was fantastic!”
“Who are you?” Rogue eyes the stranger in distaste as Logan punches his arm, “Shut up, Wade.”
“Rogue, this is Wade and Vanessa.” Logan introduces and then he looks around in confusion, “Where’d Laura go?”
“She already ran off with Mary.” Vanessa tells him, “Probably to meet your Laura.”
“Are they the ones that kidnapped you?” Kitty steps through Scott and really, isn’t Scott supposed to be the one asking the questions?
“Yeah.” Logan grunts. “Saved my life.”
Oh so these guys can save Logan’s life but anytime Scott does-
‘With his healing factor, no, we have never actually saved his life.’ Jean arrives at the scene with that thought in Scott’s head. ‘Literally at least.’
“How?” Jean asks aloud to Logan.
“We saved the timelines with the power of our gay love and now we can never be separated.” Wade strikes a cutesy pose and grabs Logan’s hand. Shockingly, Wolverine accepts the gesture with only a look of mild irritation.
“Literally.” Vanessa tacks on, leaning against Wade’s side.
“So, what? These people kidnapped you and now you’re best friends?” Scott scowls.
“Boyfriends actually, hater.” Vanessa gives him a wink, “and occasionally, I’m invited too.”
Scott hears Johnny whisper behind him, “Wait, you can do that?”
Rogue has gone wide-eyed and Kitty looks ecstatic.
“Don’t say it like that.” Logan rolls his eyes. “She’s Wade’s girlfriend.”
“And occasionally yours.” She pecks both men on the cheek, “Depends on the day.”
One of the girls squeals behind him, probably Jubilee if the sound of something popping is any indication. “Wolvie has a girlfriend and a boyfriend!”
Scott’s mind goes blank, his mind reeling with the information. He half expects Logan to disagree, but the gruff man says nothing against Jubilee’s statement. Jean recoils next to him.
‘Oh, Love.’ She whispers in his mind.
‘What? What is it?’
He fears he already knows.
Jean closes her eyes and Scott is hit by a tsunami of utter adoration and complete devotion.
Whose is it? He wonders. Vanessa's? Wade’s?
'No,' Jean corrects, 'It's his.'
Logan's.
“Are you going to introduce us to the rest of your family or are we going to let Wade do all the talking?”
“Oh fuck yes, let me do it! I’ll even get the pictures out-”
“Don’t you fuckin’ dare!”
As Wade and Logan’s argument descends into an impromptu wrestling match, Scott blinks and gets hit with an image where it’s Jean smiling fondly at her boys while Scott is arguing with Logan.
‘Missed our chance.’ Jean pouts and the image realigns with reality. Logan has Wade pinned against him with the strength of his arms when Wade leans in for a kiss on the lips with a, “You know this turns me on you bastard, at least give me a kiss for it!”
It shouldn’t be that upsetting when Logan acquiesces with a grumble, “Behave or I’ll train the dog to piss in all your shoes.” It stings, nonetheless.
“And I’ll help him,” Vanessa says, much to Wade’s dismay. Though he gets a kiss from her too.
‘Yeah.’ He agrees, ‘Missed our chance.’
Epilogue:
“Wait a minute.” Scott suddenly interrupts Wade’s wail of betrayal. Logan blinks tiredly at him as the leader of the X-Men marches up to them. It’s been a long fuckin’ day. Sue him.
Slim jabs a finger at him. “What the hell was wrong with my bike?”
It takes a minute for him to process what has Slim all worked up. Truth was: he was so used to avoiding that area of the garage after Scott died two timelines ago that he hadn’t even glanced at the bike and took the Professor’s car instead. He won’t be telling Cyke that, though.
“...I remembered that I’ve ridden better.”
“Yeah, me.” He smacks Wade’s arm as Slim’s face goes beet red and Jean has to pull him away. The only reason he doesn’t stab Deadpool is because of the kids present. He’s already a terrible role model, there’s no need for them to watch him stab his boyfriend, no matter how much Wade likes it.
Vanessa laughs beautifully beside him and he knows Wade has a smug look on his face beneath the mask. God, he’s missed them. He can’t fault them for going after their other family members first. It just makes him all the more grateful to have them in his life.
Above them, a younger Laura stares at another X-23. Wade had busted her out of Transigen a couple days ago, and she has mixed feelings about Logan saving this Laura. The other Laura growls at her. She growls right back.
Her Logan is alive again, but he doesn’t know her. The Logan she came to know still remembers her, but she isn’t his Laura.
He’d seemed happy when he saw her. This Laura didn’t know him like she did. This Laura had Gabriela and the other X-Men. This Laura had no need for Logan. She nods, certain of this thought. There’s no need for her to share her family with another Laura. She turns away from the other Laura.
“X-! Laura, no!”
She meets the other Laura’s claws with her own. She snarls and throws the other Laura back. The other Laura lunges again and they fall out of the window.
Logan glances outside at the racket and sees both Lauras fighting on the lawn much to everyone else’s alarm.
Heh, youth.
“What is that ?” A kid yells from further into the mansion. Logan listens carefully. “It’s so ugly!” is followed by a “Hey, it peed on me!”
“I’m so proud of her.” Wade wipes a nonexistent tear from under his masked eyes. Whether he’s talking about Mary Puppins or Laura, Logan doesn’t know. “I’ll get Mary, you get Laura.”
“ I’ll get Mary.” Vanessa says, “You both will go get Laura.”
“What the-? Logan, when did you get two kids?!” Scott yells from the window. Logan smirks in a way he knows drives Scott nuts. “What’s better than one wolverine?” Deadpool asks, jumping through the window. His knuckle knives are held between his fingers in a stupid fucking imitation of Logan’s claws, “Four!”
And yeah, it’s a little funny and not Wade’s best joke, but his lips twitch upward anyway, and he follows Wade out.